The Lost Heroine
by AsiaMoonfield
Summary: A Partial AU in which Percy and Jason weren't chosen for Hera's "exchange" but Annabeth and Reyna. / Crossposted on AO3. Wattpad, and Tumblr
1. The Stranger On the Bus

Hands entwined, smiles nearly hidden by the night, Annabeth and Percy walked towards Cabin Three. No, no, no. It's _not_ what _you_ think. Annabeth wanted to spend as much time as possible with Percy this winter. This walk before the harpies came and announced curfew was the last time they'd be together for today. They didn't have these kind of moments. A lot. And that was because they were demigods.

 _If we weren't_ demigods, she sometimes pondered, _would we even meet?_ She sure didn't want to find out the answer to that.

And, really. Annabeth wouldn't break the rules of camp just because she'd been constantly regarded as a heroine of Olympus and the gods and _everyone else_ thought that she'd get her way around said rules. She'd love to prove them wrong.

"Tomorrow's going to be a big day, huh?" Percy grinned, squeezing her hands gently in his grasp. He leaned on the door of his cabin, a low bunker-like building resembling a shell.

"Peace, finally." Annabeth closed the distance between them and gave him a light peck on his right cheek. "And we'll be able to enjoy ourselves more in camp, catch up with everyone else. Maybe have a date while we're at it. A mortal, normal kind of date, I mean."

"The last time we had one..." Percy broke into a chuckle. She knew, even if Percy didn't vocalize it, he remembers the whole thing like it happened yesterday. Annabeth joined in his reverie, launching into some of their embarrassing moments. Their first date ruined by one of Hermes' trinkets. Well, an important trinket at that. The kiss on Mount St. Helens. Annabeth kicking the crap out of Percy's classmate in a burning gym. The zoo truck and Percy's fight with Ares.

Percy's gaze shifted to the sky. He smiled at it, a wistful kind of expression laced with content evident on his sparkling green irises. "Their deaths won't be in vain."

"We'll make sure that the new generation of demigods will remember them," Annabeth said, "honor their bravery and courage."

A confident grin graced Percy's face. "We definitely will. All the seasoned demigods. You. Me."

The conch horn sounded in the air.

"The harpies are coming," Percy murmured. "See you in the morning, Annabeth."

"Don't disappear in the middle of the night, alright?" Annabeth joked, ribbing him in a good-nature fashion.

"Ditto."

They shared one last kiss that night, before they made their way inside their cabins. Annabeth, however, lingered a little longer outside, just gazing at Percy's door, a smile on her face.

 _That_ was her mistake.

A cold body slammed into her and covered her mouth with a cloth. Annabeth thrashed, only that it proved useless against whoever her captor was- as sturdy as a tree, arms thick and full of well-developed muscle, his wide torso as cold as a gravestone. Chills spread on her back like wildfire, her skin crawling. Annabeth couldn't breathe much, and dizziness took over . . . _It was from the smell . . ._

Her consciousness plummeted to an abyss. Slowly, then all at once.


	2. The Stranger Who Sensed Danger

**THE BUS HALTED, AND SO** did the curious questions of Reyna's strange unfamiliar-yet-familiar companions.

It's a strange feeling to have, thought Reyna as she walked with them into the big building complex before them. She didn't know what was true and what were the lies, which facts should she believe and hold close to her. It seemed like her amnesia affected even her judging skills.

"So, a crash course for the lovely amnesiac," Leo said beside her.

Reyna looked at him as if he was crazy, then he airily cleared his throat. "We go to 'Wilderness School'"- Leo used his fingers to make air quotes. "Which means we're bad kids. Someone decided- your family, the court, or whoever- that you were too much trouble and sent you off to this prison- sorry, 'boarding school'- in Armpit, Nevada. The bat-wielding Coach Hedge brings us to these educational field trips as the school's special treat to us and, yeah, he loves that baseball bat more than he loves us. Anything coming back to you now, Rey?"

"No," she answered, clear as day. "And don't call me Rey."

"As you say, Rey."

Reyna nearly smacked her sweating forehead. The place felt hot, and just now a cold breeze hit her face across as they entered the building. Reyna's internal shackles grew taut- danger was about to come, she could sense it. Looking at the rest of the students, Reyna couldn't imagine how she was here or how these kids had gotten here. There could've been a better place for them, a fortified city perhaps, or a camp...

There was that pounding headache again, striking swift as a snake after its prey. Camps and gods, were they connected somehow.

"You're really going to pretend that you have that amnesia, huh," Leo muttered. "The three of us started this semester, alright? We're totally close- especially you and me. We would usually share dessert and you always do the chores without complaining-"

"Leo!" Piper snapped.

"Okay, okay. Forget the last part. But we are friends." There was an undertone that made Reyna think he's telling the truth.

"She has an amnesia, or something like that." Piper looked around. "We've got to tell somebody."

"Who? Coach Hedge?" Leo snorted. "He'd try to fix Reyna by hitting her with that baseball bat!"

The said coach led the kids up front, but sometimes, Reyna would catch him glimpse at her and scowl. That was really suspicious. Maybe he knew something that Reyna was supposed to know.

There's only one way to find out-

Someone wedged his way between Reyna and Piper, then knocked Leo down for good measure.

"Do you even know what rude is?" Reyna asked at the offender.

The guy raised an eyebrow at him, then grinned. His teeth were white, almost glaring at her like harsh industrial lights. Reyna instantly hated him.

Piper tried to shake him off her arm. "I didn't ask to be your partner, Dylan. Leave us alone."

"Piper, that's no way to be!" he cried dramatically. "These bottom-feeders are poisoning your mind. You're missing your lucky day!" He tugged Piper and they both bounded off inside the building. Piper shot one last glance at them, like: Send help. Immediately.

Reyna would've taken Piper, if she wasn't feeling a twinge of worry for Leo, who was brushing off the dust on his clothes.

"I hate that guy." He straightened in his stance and made a show of copying Dylan's expression earlier. "I'm Dylan! I'm so hot I don't know how to date myself. Want to date me? You're so lucky!"

Reyna chuckled a bit. "Leo, you're crazy."

"You tell me that a lot," he said, looking down the ground with a smile. Then he looked at her again with that impish grin. "But if you don't remember me, that means I could use all my old jokes again. Come on."

They walked through the building, admiring each stop that Coach Hedge elaborated with the use of his megaphone. Most of the time, though, she couldn't understand the coach because his voice changed a lot of times or blared random comments like, "The cow says moo!"

Beside Reyna, Leo pulled out a variety of items from the pockets of his army jacket. It seemed like he had an entire table's worth of mechanic tools- nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners. He was piecing something together, but Reyna couldn't guess what.

Reyna tried to focus on the exhibit again, which was actually about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe which owned the museum. Ahead of her were Piper and Dylan, and a few girls with matching pink attire and overdone makeup. Even from this distance, Reyna could her their japes at Piper. Her hands clenched into fists.

Leo was suddenly next to her, holding her right arm as if to calm her. "Hey, hey. Calm down, Reyna. Piper can handle a few words, okay? And she doesn't like it whenever we intervene. She'll be fine."

Reyna stared at him for a moment, then turned to the front of the group. They had reached the far end of the exhibit hall, and before them were glass doors leading to a terrace.

The coach stopped by the doors. "All right cupcakes," he started. "You're about to see the Grand Canyon. The skywalk could hold about seventy jets and so you featherweights should be okay. Do not push each other over the edge as that would cause me extra paperwork."

He made a passing glance at Reyna again, then he opened the door.


	3. Storms and Skywalks, Mind Over Matter

**REYNA'S EYES WERE WIDE AS** she and the rest of the students made their entrance at the skywalk. The skywalk was made of glass, so she had an impression of herself and the others walking on air. The Grand Canyon was so enormous it felt hard to take all its details inside her mind. Before them, the canyon spread wide with varying shades of rock strata and high-rise earth formations. Way below them, a river cut a low path among the rocks.

Her awe wavered at something else. The cliff faces looked darker from the storm clouds hovering above them.

"The clouds," Leo noted, following her gaze. His hands still worked on a something that looked like a small helicopter. When Reyna looked at him, they met each other's gaze then he looked up again. "I mean, the clouds are just on top of us but everywhere else seemed clear from it."

She nodded. "Looks like a storm to me."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Coach Hedge frown at the clouds. "Get going, cupcakes. Remember, complete sentences!"

Everyone split up in pairs, talking among themselves and trying to answer their worksheets. There were a few who went by the railing to throw coins. Piper was somewhere far from her and Leo's post, almost at the opposite side of the skywalk, trying to get Dylan to stop disturbing her from answering. Reyna had already found hers in a bag back at the bus, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Thunder rumbled outside like a warning, a message.

"Watch this." Leo launched his latest creation in the air. Reyna saw the object fly across the skywalk and out into the canyon's airspace, the pipe cleaners spinning like real copter blades. Somewhere far from the edge, the copter lost its flight and fell to oblivion.

"That's... amazing." Normal people wouldn't have done that, she knew, and in a small span of time, too.

"I should've used rubber bands," Leo said to himself. "You really don't remember me?"

"I don't." She bit her lip, feeling sorry for some reason. "I really don't remember anything, Leo. I'm sorry."

"'S not really your fault, you know." His smile was a little sad, and his hands were now patting his pockets. "But don't you think it's a little weird? You don't remember us, but we know you."

"But it's true!" Reyna made a voice check. Not too loud, Reyna, she chided to herself. Not. Too. Loud. "Leo, what if-"

"You're right and we're all wrong?" he supplied, an eyebrow raised.

Either sides made perfect sense to her, but Reyna was leaning towards the fact that she didn't belong in this place. "Okay," she breathed. "How did we met? What was the first thing we did together?" At the back of her mind, the last question seemed to twist her heart a little.

Leo stared at her, blinking slow. "It was..." His face scrunched up a bit, then he shook his head. "Don't remember. I have ADHD- I don't remember things a lot."

Reyna pursed her lips again, looking for an alternative. The questions about who she really was pressed harder than the ones on the worksheet, she'd started to ignore that flimsy piece of paper. She got up and handed the paper to Leo.

"Wait, you seriously can't-"

"I'll be back in a few," Reyna answered, heading to Coach Hedge. Her palms broke into a cold sweat, then she glanced back for a moment. Leo was patting his army jacket pockets, pulling out a few things again and building something again.

"You did this?" The coach gestured at the storm clouds when she was near.

She took a step back, cautious. The coach looked like he was ready to send her from one cliff face to the next. "I didn't, sir."

"Great," he muttered. "You're telling the truth. But who are you? What are you doing here?"

Something threatened to melt inside Reyna. "So I'm not a part of your class?"

He snorted, his eyes glinting under his baseball cap. "Never saw you until today."

Reyna released a huge sigh. Finally, an answer.

The coach continued in a lower tone, like he was sharing some secret. "Look, I see that you have some power over Mist here. You made all these people believe that you were a part of the group even if you're not."

"What... mist?"

"I've been smelling a monster in this group, but you don't smell like a monster," he said. "You smell like a half-blood. So, tell me. Who are you?"

Reyna took a deep breath. She didn't know what those other words meant- that mist, half-bloods, monsters. Well, she had an idea about the monsters but from the coach's tone it sounded more menacing- alive. She opted to be as truthful as she could instead. "I don't know. I don't remember anything, and that's the truth. All I know is that I feel like I shouldn't be here in the first place." She looked at the coach. "Do you know who I am?"

The coach's stare at her seemed like he was reading her. "I don't know who you are, miss, but I know what you are, and that means trouble. You say you had no memories? Fine. I've got three people to protect now instead of two. We just have to- Wait." He stared at her. "Are you the special package?"

"Special package?"

"Earlier, I got a message," he continued in a whisper. "They said an extraction team was on their way. I said, Great. The two I have here are already powerful ones, and older than the usual ones we've rescued. They're pretty ecstatic to get them, and I could understand that. Then you suddenly pop in here." He huffed. "For days, I've smelled that we had an infiltrator, but-"

Both of them noticed the sudden growth of darkness. The storm clouds thickened above them, looming like wispy fingers about to grab them one by one. The students stirred from their spots, pointing. Thunder rumbled ahead, and the winds raged at the canyon.

Reyna tried to focus, but the headaches came in waves she nearly stumbled. Camp. Monsters. Immortals. There was something that she missed, something in those words...

The wind tore all the worksheets and sent them flying to the canyon. Kids screamed, stumbling, grabbing at something to keep their foot on the shuddering glass floor.

Coach Hedge brandished his megaphone like a sword. "Everybody out! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!"

Nearly everyone obliged, their faces drawn pale in panic. Reyna helped them to their feet, then headed to Leo's direction. He looked a bit pale, and he wasn't moving from his vise grip at the railing. Piper and Dylan were already at the doors, holding the door out for the running kids and teens alike.

"You said the platform was stable!" Reyna yelled to the coach.

"In normal circumstances," Coach gritted out. "This is definitely not normal. Come on!"


	4. The Company of Flying Monstrosities

**SOMETHING COLD HIT REYNA'S LEFT** sole. Hit wasn't even the right word- the cold object seemed to be right under her toes. She ignored it until she got to Leo's post, with her hair flapping like whips to her face, hardly feeling herself walk but glide on the slick floor. She pulled him out of his chilled grasp from the railing, then he grabbed at her arms like she was some life raft.

"Thanks!" Leo yelled against the wind as they walked to safety. If they could call it walking when the wind pushed you half a step back at every step they took. Eventually, they reached Coach Hedge's side and managed to hold on over the flooring.

By the doors, Piper and Dylan had already herded the last of the kids to the safe area. The doors shut with a loud bang, and Reyna felt like it wasn't the hallway that was sealed but their fates. Piper jingled the doorknob, frantic. Reyna heard the rest of the students pound on the other side of the door.

"Dylan, do something!" she yelled at him.

He only smiled, like everything was totally chill. "Sorry, Piper, but I'm done helping." He flicked his wrist, and Piper flew off the door. Reyna couldn't even gasp- it happened too fast.

Then Dylan focused at them.

"I should've known that that was our monster," Coach Hedge said, stepping forward and holding out his hand as if to protect them. His eyes gleamed. "Stand back, the two of you. This is my fight."

Dylan laughed like a psycho- which he probably was, given what was happening to them right now. "I've been in your team the entire season and you never noticed! No wonder they've retired you to this stupid, faraway school, Coach."

They? Who was he referring to-

The wind blew off the coach's cap, revealing bunps that looked like horns for Reyna. The baseball bat turned into a thick tree branch cudgel, with leaves and small twigs still attached like bristles on a spiked mace. "That's it, cupcake," he threatened, hefting the cudgel. "You're going down."

Something itched and felt warm on Reyna's arm, and the cold grew beneath her left foot. She looked at her arms first- there were four lines and a torch symbol over the lines. She didn't know what it meant, but it felt like she was going to need it. Need it how? she wanted to scream. And when, exactly?

"-three half-bloods at once?" Dylan was saying, then he laughed. "Good luck."

He pointed at Leo, then a miniature dust cloud materialized beneath his feet, swirling and carrying Leo off the skywalk. Reyna chased the dust cloud without thinking, until the tilting skywalk and the raging winds threatened to throw her off. Leo flailed and twisted against the tornado, then he fell below, skittering and clawing for handholds. He managed to hold onto something- he was fifty feet below the skywalk.

"Help!" he screamed at them, his voice a little lost in the wind. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"

Reyna looked at Coach Hedge for an answer. The coach didn't seem to like the odds before them. By the doors, Dylan watched them, his psycho smile unwavering. Coach Hedge threw the club at Reyna's direction, and the latter caught it with two hands. The cudgel was heavy, but nothing she couldn't lift.

"I don't know what you can do, cupcake," he said, "but I hope you're good. Keep that thing busy"- he jabbed a finger at Dylan-"while I get Leo."

"How will you get him?" Reyna asked the coach. "You'll fly?"

"Not fly. Climb." The coach kicked his shoes off, and Reyna almost stumbled in spite of herself. The coach had goat hooves. So those knotty horns were-

"You're a faun," Reyna muttered, not knowing where that word came from.

"A satyr!" he said back. "Fauns are Romans. But we'll talk about that later."

If any of us would be left, Reyna thought. She trained her eyes on Dylan, then charged with the cudgel raised over her head. The psychotic delinquent flicked his fingers at Reyna's direction and dust clouds appeared, seemingly wanting to throw her off the skywalk in one move. Reyna might've moved half as fast, but she dodged the dust clouds in pressured ease, occasionally hitting each with the cudgel and dissolving them. She could see Dylan ahead with a look of utter distaste on his face. When she was close enough, she swung the cudgel at his face. The momentum was enough to throw Dylan off his feet. Reyna let go of the club and threw it right next to Piper.

The tattoo on her arm burned at the slightest degree, and the coldness on her foot grew even colder. She pushed out the cold object with her toes as fast she could, and a glint of gold emerged from her shoe. She pushed it out further, and revealed a small knife with a flat hilt, the blade wrapped in gauze except for the tip. She held it immediately and unwrapped the gauze, finding comfort in the small weapon. It was gold- hilt, handle, and blade.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Piper raise her head with a surprised look on her face. She reached for the club and closed her right hand around the leather grip, giving Reyna a defiant look while pretending unconscious.

Reyna didn't see the kids by the door. They must've backed out from fear.

Reyna returned the look with a subtle nod, then focused at Dylan again. His forehead had a golden trail of blood.

"Nice try," he spat, glaring. "But you'll have to do better."

He dissolved into air, turning into a smoky figure with his looks retained and smoky black wings flickering on his back. His eyes sparkled like lightning.

"A ventus," Reyna realized. "I should've known with this storm all around us."

"Well I'm afraid it's too late that you knew!" the ventus taunted. "My mistress told me a third was about to come, which is why I waited. Could've killed both Piper and Leo earlier, but maybe if I killed all three of you, that would mean more rewards for me!"

Reyna saw him summoning two more venti at his sides, grinning like demonic angels at her. She readied her golden knife, brandishing it before her like a sword, but before she could charge again, a flash of lightning blinded her.

Arcs of lightning hit her knife first, then the lightning spread on her body. She fell to the skywalk, ears ringing, her body numb. The tattoo on her arm felt scorching hot against her skin, like she was being branded all over again. But with the warmth on her arm, the pain she was supposed to feel from the lightning diminished in a great scale. Her left shoe burned away to dust. Her feet felt hot, tingling, and dark with soot.

When the ringing subsided and her legs felt okay again, Reyna stood up, glaring.

Dylan and his spirit goons had their mouths wide open for a moment. "How did you survived that?" Dylan shouted. "The lightning would've killed two dozen people!"

She had a moment to think and tell herself, I'm crazy. She charged at the venti with her gold knife.

"Kill her!" Dylan ordered at his companions, who obliged fast enough but with a certain look on their face. Fear.

They feared me. The thought boosted her confidence by tenfold - the tattoo burned against her skin again. The storm spirits tried to trick her, but it didn't work. Reyna turned, her back facing the ventus' back, then thrust her knife in reverse grip. The first spirit dissolved into golden powder. She twisted her knife so her grip would be back to normal again, then met the second spirit's charge. She stabbed the ventus in between the eyes, then the spirit dissolved. The wind kept the golden dust floating like glitter around them.

Then Coach Hedge landed on the skywalk, dropping a dazed Leo to safety. He flexed his arms and shouted, "Fear me, spirits!"

There were no spirits aside from Dylan the Psycho, who now looked like he wanted to throttle them all to the Grand Canyon. The way his eyes sparked looked danger enough for Reyna.

Hedge looked at Reyna. "You didn't save me one?"

"Don't even ask for it!" Leo shouted at the coach. His hands bled from his time at the wall. Reyna's chest tightened.

Dylan cursed. "You don't know what you've awakened, demigods. This is a war you cannot win!"

Above them, the storm hit harder on them. Rain poured in heaps, stinging Reyna's skin. A singeing sound filled her ears. She felt her energy wane. Cracks filled the glass floors of the skywalk.

No matter what happens next, they would all fall to the canyon if they didn't act. Fast.


	5. Strangers Meet Strangers

**REYNA LOOKED UP AND SAW** a swirling vortex amidst the storm clouds. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Dylan grinning like it was good news. That wasn't good for their side.

"My mistress calls!" Dylan shouted. "I'll have this one instead!"

He was about to grab Leo off with his winds, but Piper intercepted him, clinging on his back and surprising the heck out of him. Both of them toppled over the glass. Reyna had already taken several steps towards them, right along with Coach Hedge. Dylan screamed his rage out, and then a strong torrent of winds knocked them all off from their stances. Coach and Leo landed on the skywalk, dazed. Reyna skittered across the skywalk's torn metal railing and hung off on one hand, the rail swaying and giving in to her weight. She lost her knife somewhere.

Her breath had almost stopped, her heart and stomach free falling to the canyon.

Then she saw Piper fly off the skywalk, tossed out like a rag doll. She screamed.

"Get Leo, Coach!" Reyna shouted at Hedge, then she let go of her death grip and fell to Piper with her arms tucked and plummeting head first. She flew fast, the winds and rain stinging her face like nettle. Piper was close by now, her face stuck on a horrified expression as they got closer, closer, closer-

Reyna grabbed Piper's arms and looked at the sky for a sign. A dark figure- there, coming nearer. She put faith in her instincts, shouting, "Scipio!"

The richly-colored pegasus seemed to get encouragement upon hearing its name. Scipio flew right under them, and both girls landed on the pegasus' back. Scipio let out a whinny and galloped on air, tilting his body a bit to help Reyna and Piper position themselves. Piper clutched her clothes at the waist, her heart beat pounding so loud Reyna could actually hear it among the chaos. Scipio's wings spread out as they picked up altitude.

Reyna hugged the pegasus, stroking his mane. "I'm glad you came. How did you know your way here?"

The pegasus neighed, apparently proud of saving his master just in time. Reyna patted his neck. "Let's go to the skywalk." Scipio turned, seemed to know where exactly to go.

Reyna glanced at Piper over her shoulder, saw her nod a few times as she muttered, "I'm okay. I'm okay."

Before Reyna could answer her one hundredth 'I don't know', Scipio landed on the skywalk. The hairline cracks grew as the pegasus put his weight on it. Reyna got down first, then she assisted Piper. The girl nearly fell over her foot, too pale and shocked at the sudden turn of events. The kids by the door didn't move, and the security guards looked like they were having a hard time with the locks.

We have to move out before they open that door, Reyna thought. Maybe I should send back Scipio... But would I find him again?

Leo groaned, lying on his back. His army jacket was soaking wet, his curly glittering in gold. Both girls rushed to his side and gently patted him to consciousness.

"Stupid... goat..." he murmured, groaning.

When his eyes opened and he could recognize them again (plus the pegasus, which he just stared at with wide eyes and knitted eyebrows), Reyna asked, "Where's Coach Hedge?"

He pointed to the sky. "Never came down. Tell me he didn't save my life."

"Twice."

Leo groaned again, taking notice of the pegasus with them. "I'm getting insane."

Piper reached for her arm, her eyes taking on an array of colors like they couldn't decide either. "Reyna, those things-"

"Venti," she said. "Storm spirits."

"You sound like you've... you've encountered them before." Piper gave her a look crossing between confused and suspicious. "Who are you?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Reyna said. "I don't know who I am."

"Other matters first," Leo cut in. "H-how did you get this- this freaking pegasus out of nowhere?"

Reyna frowned. "I'm getting really tired of saying-"

"You don't know," he supplied. "But maybe- just for once"-he pursed his lips for a second then pointed at the sky again-"maybe you know the other flying horses over there?"

The girls and the pegasus turned to the direction he had pointed. Another figure was coming from the east and headed towards the skywalk- a pair of gray pegasi, each with twenty feet wingspan, pulling something that Reyna recognized at first sight: a chariot. The pegasi and the chariot landed at the edge of the skywalk, cantering nervously as if they felt how near the glass floor was from breaking into shards. Riding the chariot were two boys who both wore orange shirts. A bald guy with a square, brutish face and a bulky body reined the horses.

And the other one... Reyna felt a twinge of familiarity, like she had seen him before. He had tanned skin and a lithe figure, sea green eyes, and windswept dark hair. He got down the chariot, passed a tight-faced glance at the bulky guy, then headed to their direction.

"Reinforcements," Reyna found herself saying. "Coach said an extraction team would arrive today."

"Sounds painful," Leo murmured.

"Where is she?" the green-eyed male asked, a harsh gaze landing at each of them before returning to Reyna.

"Where's who?" Reyna asked back.

His eyes went wide, then he put on a mask of calm. "Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge? Who are you and what happened?"

"He's gone," Leo answered. "Taken by those tornado people, whatever they were." Both him and Piper looked at Reyna, expecting her to tell the story of their weird and scary morning. Somehow, Reyna found the guts to look at the guy in the eye as she said what happened, or maybe it was something she'd always done before. Halfway through the story, the bulky dude came over, crossing his arms when he got close to Percy. For some reason, he had a rainbow tattoo on his biceps.

Sure, why not?

When she was done, Reyna saw his hands curl into fists, his eyes closed as if keeping his frustrations to himself. Then he glared at the sky, as if someone was watching them and he knew that. "Are you happy now, seeing me suffer like this?" He shook his head. "I shouldn't have believed what she said."

He walked back to the chariot, but the bulky dude held him back, pointing at Reyna's foot.

Reyna looked. Her left shoe was gone- oh, right. The lightning... She looked at the green-eyed boy.

"I was expecting Annabeth, not her," he spat with his gaze casted on the floor. Venom was in his tone, almost succeeding in making Reyna feel that she was insignificant.

Reyna shook the cobwebs off, muttering the girl's name. "Anna...beth? We don't know any A-"

She doubled over. The hardest headache since this morning came to Reyna like a tsunami. Images raced at the back of her mind, like a time lapse of forgotten memories. She was a little girl hiding behind a curtain, saw the green-eyed boy, only younger, walking inside the place with a beautiful blonde hair girl. The image switched to her brushing the hair of that blonde-haired girl...

The vision ended, her breath taken away like someone held her neck in a choke hold. Leo and Piper were suddenly beside her, helping her stand back. Scipio neighed, his tail flicking. He looked at Reyna with sad eyes.

"Go," Reyna croaked at the pegasus.

The green-eyed boy was looking at the horse. "He doesn't want to leave you."

"What did you say?"

"I..." He shook his head. "Never mind." He took a long look at Scipio, then the pegasus took flight.

"Where is he-"

"I told him to follow us," the guy told Reyna, then he waved his hands in dismissal. "I'll just explain later. Sorry about what I said earlier."

The glass floor shuddered. The horses let out an alarmed whinny.

"We should leave," the bulky dude said. "Either we fall to the canyon, or the storm spirits would come back."

"Wouldn't want to be a demigod pancake," the guy muttered with a frown, then he looked at Reyna. "We'll settle this later."

He walked towards the chariot first, then the other guy beckoned the three of them to follow.

"I'm not going anywhere with that guy," Leo spoke.

Reyna faced him. "Would you rather go with Dylan?"

Leo hurried beside her. "Of course I'd go with you!"

"Sorry about what Percy said earlier," he said to them. "You gotta cut him some slack. He's been searching for three days nonstop, and, well... he got a vision yesterday, and he's hoping to get the answer to his problem by coming here."

Leo muttered something else, but Reyna didn't hear what was that.

"What was his problem?" Piper asked.

"He's finding one of our campers," he said. "His girlfriend, Annabeth Chase."


	6. YN, You've Just Been Claimed

REYNA'S GAZE FOCUSED ON THE storm-filled horizon, her ears listening in a half-hearted fashion at Piper and Leo throwing questions and sideshow commentary at their guides―Percy and Butch. Scipio followed close with the horses, stationing himself a few feet below the chariot. They were all going to a camp of demigods, ("Camp Half-Blood," Percy answered) and from there, Reyna felt a twinge of reassurance. It felt like she was going home.

But when she saw the direction they headed to, her gut instinct almost made her turn away.

East. They were heading east.

"Is that some kind of a bad joke?" Piper asked at their guides upon the mention of 'half-blood.'

Reyna felt compelled to answer that. "It means we're demigods. One of our parents is mortal, the other a god or a goddess."

Percy raised an eyebrow at her. He looked like he was about to say something when a glimmer of hesitation crossed his features, then he lightly shook his head. "I'm the son of Poseidon, by the way, and Butch here is the son of Iris."

 _Now that explains the tattoo,_ Reyna thought in sudden abandon.

"Your mom is the rainbow goddess?" Leo asked. Reyna heared the little choke on his voice as he said the last two words.

Butch glanced back at him. "Yes. You have a problem with that?"

Leo waved his hands in a 'No,' gesture, smiling nervously as he did.

"He's the camp's best equestrian," Percy added. His tone was hollow, as if he wasn't really there with them. "Aside from me, he's the next best person who goes along great with the pegasi."

"Aside from you—" Piper caught herself. "Oh, right. Poseidon created horses from sea foam."

"You know Greek mythology?"

Leo grinned. "You know, Piper's father is actually the—"

"He made a—a research about Greek mythology." Leo was no match at Piper's choke hold. "I helped him out."

 _If her father's the mortal, her mother might be Minerva. But the eyes..._ Reyna glanced at Piper's direction again to make sure—yes, the colors of her eyes still danced like a shifting kaleidoscope. _It's too flashy to be Minerva's..._

The wind roared, alive with malice and threats of death. Reyna looked behind them. The sight of the smoked gray, wispy horses coming from the west sent her heart into the beginning of a tight race, a tension that felt palpable, her grip on the chariot's side turning icy. The winds rocked at both sides, lightning crackling all around them.

Piper balked as much as she could in the cramped chariot, which wasn't much. "Why are they-"

"Those spirits come in different shapes," Butch explained, looking at Percy. "Their looks depend on how chaotic they are."

Percy looked like he was stifling a few choice curses. In truth, he looked like he hated that he hadn't seen this Annabeth girl but them. "This is why I hate travelling on―"

Lightning flashed dangerously close, the ensuing thunderclap almost deafening.

"Left wheel on fire!" Leo shouted. Reyna saw bluish-white fire lapping around the wheel, eating and turning the wheel into smoldering dust in second.

"We gotta get out of here." Percy and Butch glanced at each other as if to reaffirm some grave idea.

Butch gave a nod at them. "Hold on. This is going to get rough."

The son of Iris flicked the reins, and the skyline turned into a blurred landscape. Her vision darkened for a moment, and when the haze cleared, she saw an entirely different land. A gray sea spread far on the left, city roads and a thick forest topped with snow like a meringue on pie at the right. She could see a beach by the north and a nearby forest, an assortment of buildings around a central campfire. The people within the locale—a valley, she guessed—looked like orange sticks moving around.

The burning wheel came off and their rough descent started. Percy's hard gaze lingered at the horses, Butch trying to rein the horses and get them in a flight formation. Scipio flew beside Reyna just inches away, whinnying in alarm as they fell.

"We'll be fine!" she told the horse. "Fly to the campfire!"

"Just to the lake, Butch!" Percy shouted—they took the direction and braced themselves.

Reyna wasn't sure how falling to the lake would hurt a lot less but it seemed like a― _BOOM_

The cold waters took all her breath away. Her muscles grew taut, and for a brief moment she didn't know where to go. Her vision started to dim . . .

Then the water raised her up, and up, and up, and then she was back on the lake's surface, floating on a single, tall-crested wave. She gasped, loud, water suddenly flowing out of her mouth. _The water I—?_ Beside her were Leo and Piper, both looking just as disoriented as her as they assumed a surfer's stand, and Reyna did the same as the wave carried them to the shore. For most parts, she was just trying to assume balance while her insides freaked out. Just behind the growing crowd of kids, Reyna could see her pegasus buffeting his wings on the air.

Percy was already on the lakeside with Butch just a few steps behind. He did not look like he was soaked, his hands reaching out as if to pull them towards him.

Percy's the Son of Neptune― _no_ , Poseidon. No wonder he could do that.

The wave thinned and brought them to the lake's shore, wet but definitely safe. Other kids with orange shirts came around with a leaf-shaped blower aimed at them. The strong gust of warm air dried Reyna, Piper, Leo after a few seconds.

Leo gasped, looking back and forth the lake and to his hands and feet. "That was the coolest surfing I've ever had."

A wet crunch followed his statement, and the three of them looked as the chariot—mangled with a few scorch marks as if it just went into an actual war— made dripping sounds over the grass. Girls with elfish features and yellow eyes waved at them before heading to the lake's underwater surface. Naiads. Water nymphs.

Percy held another staring contest with Scipio (who was whinnying for some reason) when someone shouted his name.

"Percy!" A tall, blonde guy with a quiver slung on his back wove his way around the curious crowd. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Sorry, Will," Percy replied, scratching the back of his head. Reyna could see her pegasus canter again, but before Butch led the pegasus he snuck a glance at Reyna. Just what did he say to my pegasus? "I promise Tyson would make you guys a better one."

Will scowled at the chariot's direction, then focused on them three. "Are they the ones? They look a lot older. Why haven't their godly parents claimed them yet?"

"Claimed?" Leo spoke.

Before any of them could answer, Will asked, "Any sign of... Annabeth?"

Percy looked down at Will's question, his face tight and hidden by a passing shadow. He shook his head.

Reyna glanced at the sea of people― kids almost the same ages as them, some younger, some a little older― muttering among themselves. It didn't take long for Reyna to assume that Annabeth was an important figure for them. A really important figure at that.

Those strange images back at the skywalk... _What did it mean? Was she tied to both Percy and Annabeth somehow?_

A girl stepped from the crowds―tall, Asian, with a slender figure and a face that looked pretty and arrogant at the same time. Somehow, her simple orange shirt and jeans looked like it was worthy of being walked on a runway. Reyna had learned to read people from just the way they looked at her and at the people around her. From the way this girl sized each of them like they mattered as much as a speck of dust, Reyna knew she wouldn't like being around her in this place.

"Well," she said in a bored tone, "I hope they're all worth the trouble."

Leo snorted. "Gee, I could really feel the love."

Reyna gave the Asian girl with an even stare. "How about you give us answers before you judge us?"

The campers made a low 'Ooh' sound, breaking into the lightest of giggles. Reyna caught a single whisper from one of the campers: "She's got guts against Drew."

Percy murmured something to himself first before glancing at Reyna. "You'll have your answers, Reyna. Maybe not from me, but you will get the answers you need. And Drew"―he passed a condenscending glance at the glamour girl―"all demigods are worth saving." He heaved a deep sigh. "Although I did wish I found Annabeth..."

"We didn't ask any of you to cart us here," Piper pointed out.

Drew scoffed. "No one wants you either, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Piper surged forward, only to be stopped by both Reyna and Leo.

"We should at least make them feel welcome," Percy said, giving a pointed look at Drew. "Each of them will get a guide, get a tour of the camp. With our luck, their godly parent would claim them at the campfire."

"Would somebody tell us what claimed means?" Piper asked.

The campers gasped, their surprised faces lit up with a red strobe of light. At first, Reyna felt confused―Where did that light come from? Then she turned.

On top of Leo's head was a glowing symbol—a holographic fiery hammer.

"That," Percy said, pertaining to Leo and the floating symbol on his head, "is claiming."


	7. YN, It's Time to Split You Up

THE PANIC LEO FELT WAS natural. The claimed demigod swatted the glowing hammer off his head, all the while claiming that he had no idea what was going on. Reyna had half her mind sympathizing for him, as if she knew the feeling herself...

A quick set of images took her unawares. She stood in a big field full of war fortifications, a gold sword in hand. Crossed torches floating over her head, like the ones tattooed on her arm, glowing just as vivid as fresh blood. People with violet shirts under their armors kneeling on one knee as they looked, hailing her name like it was sacred.

She blinked the images away, trying to look and act casual. Memory triggers. Someone or something's helping me remember things...

Something clicked just then. The people in that trigger wore purple shirts. And all around her were kids wearing orange.

Her heart pounded at the thought, her stomach turning.

"That's not good," Butch muttered. "The curse―"

"Butch, shut up," Percy said. "Leo, you've just been claimed―"

"By a god," Reyna supplied. "That's... that's the symbol of Vulcan."

All eyes turned on her. Percy's gaze at her was one of caution that Reyna knew she gave out a lot. "How did you know that?"

"I just..." She frowned. "Know. Somehow."

Leo was still swatting at the symbol overhead.

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Will spoke. "Either way, he is the god of blacksmiths and fire."

The holographic symbol faded but Leo still had that mask of bewilderment. "The god of what? Who?"

Percy glanced sideways at Will. "Would you give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates at Cabin Nine."

Will nodded. "Sure, Percy."

"I'm not a Vulcan!" Leo said, but Will looked like he won't take no for an answer.

"Come on, Mr. Spock," he said, patting Leo's shoulder before steering him through the crowd. "I'll explain everything on the way."

Percy gazed at Reyna long enough to make her feel on the verge of uncomfortable, but he looked like he was thinking deep on how to proceed. "Hold out your arm, please."

Reyna and Piper exchanged glances. Her multicolored eyes looked a little disturbed, but she just nodded like an 'okay' sign. Reyna shed her cardigan off and showed her right forearm to him. Beside her, Piper gasped.

Reyna had a split second to realize that no one had yet seen the tattoo on her arm aside from her. The crossed torches and the four straight lines deeply etched on her skin. Branded.

"What―" Piper stammered, looking at the tattoo with wide eyes. "H-how―"

"You act like you've never seen this before," Percy said to Piper, an eyebrow raised.

"I didn't! Those marks―I've never seen them― "

He focused on the marks with a look Reyna couldn't discern. "This was also in the... Never mind. How did you get them?"

"I'm getting really tired of saying this," she replied, trying not to scream the next words. "I don't know."

Percy considered for a moment. "She's going to Chiron. He would know what to do. Drew―"

"No, no, no, no." Drew crossed her arms. "I won't take that girl with me."

"I'm already tired from the trip and from everything else," Percy intoned. His eyes glinted like a darker emerald. Some of the campers actually backed away, tongues tied. "I just want to crash and burn and bring Olympus with my fall because they did this to me." Thunder rumbled overhead like it just heard what Percy accused them of. "So would you please do what I ask you to do?"

Drew looked like she wouldn't back out of her decision despite the fear on her eyes.

"Don't force me," Percy warned.

"I'll be fine on my own," Reyna told him, glancing at Drew. "I think so, anyway. Just tell me where to go." And you better tell me where you saw the marks on my arm later, too.

"On the Big House," he said after a moment. "The four-story blue mansion over there. Hard to miss."

Reyna nodded once at him, then at Piper. "Good luck," she said, almost whispering.

"Looks like I'm going to need that," Reyna replied as she started taking her steps. In her wake, the crowds dissipated, looking with uncertainty at her direction.

When she glanced over her shoulder for one last time, she saw Piper and Percy alone, then they headed elsewhere. Grim determination shone in his sea-green eyes, and for a quiet moment, Reyna didn't know how she could 'read' him. Are we even connected in the first place? By how much?

The young image of Percy came back again as she went, but it seemed to her that it was almost fading too.

―

 _A little past midnight._

The Praetor looked out from the Gardens of Bacchus, observing the moon casting its ethereal light over the entirety of the snowy Camp Jupiter and New Rome. Peaceful, it would seem, but under the soft silver strobes of the moon and the glints of snowflakes lied their problems. His problems. His grip on the railings was firm, but cold.

Both praetors shared their view here, her favorite place, sipping cups of hot chocolate whether it be summer or winter . . . Strange how could someone's presence make a place go warm, and how its absence makes it turn into a bitter kind of cold.

While he reminisced, his fingers felt coated in ice. He didn't know how long he would last in power. Octavian kept pushing what he liked to the masses, from whispers loud and soft, an imposing figure among the demigods and legacies in spite of his scrawny arms. Even a praetor's privileges didn't extend to this—this sending out a questing party just for her. Yes, she is the Praetor of New Rome but it would be anything but unwise if they sent people out into a search that they didn't know how to begin with. As Octavian condescendingly pointed out yesterday, for all they knew she might be in Antarctica.

What worried him the most was that there was no reason for this sudden loss to even happen in the first place. This wasn't a part of the Sibylline verses. And although she and him had hidden enemies in camp, no one had that much guts to inflict hurt on them, much less kidnap her or something.

His breath clouded before his mouth. It had been three days since . . .

He took a long breath, the wintry aria spreading a familiar chill in his lungs. He was young when his mother left him in the Wolf House, breathing cold air and lighting a frozen fire in his lungs as he faced Lupa and her wolves.

Since she disappeared, a hollow had formed in his chest. He vowed to find her, and they'd gone as far as the Senators would allow. The eagles came back with nothing, the auguries told none (or maybe it's just Octavian pulling strings again), and a few pledged legionnaires from outside Camp Jupiter and New Rome promised that they'll look for her whenever they can. A few messages of a similar plea had been sent out to legionnaires on quests, and fervent replies showing support to the search came back. But the demigods who sent them hadn't given any news or came back with her shadow. Yet.

Three days. Just three days of her disappearance and he was almost there to unraveling himself. Inside him, the world closed in and he pushed back. He couldn't feel his fingers anymore, much less the feet that helped him stand against the light rain of snow. He felt like he was two again, alone in the woods, wondering if he'd still breathe by dawn or if his mom would come back or his sister would search for him.

They gave up on him. Left him. Abandoned him. And perhaps forgotten him, too. That was why when he got older he reached out for everyone. He wanted them to feel welcome in the first place, to feel that they could have him as an honest friend, a loyal comrade, and a brother they could trust.

He was not going to be a tragic repeat of his own mother.

Jason wouldn't just give Reyna up.

―

She ran through the desolated forest, twigs hitting her arms back and forth. Her footsteps made crunching sounds against the snow and fallen leaves, an active trail, a beacon in the dark. She could barely see the moon through the branches of the trees around them. Breathless, she stopped, looked around, and listened.

She heard nothing.

Then a huge shadow leaped on her, its white jaws a stark contrast. She could barely make herself look― its body pinned her to the ground as easy as a thumbtack pinning a piece of paper on the wall. Snarls echoed from one tree to the next, shadows taking form into huge animals, an ominous sable against the innocuous silver of the moon.

The wolves have come, she thought as the wolves circled her. They're here to kill me.

 _No._

Annabeth's eyes widened. It was a female who spoke, a growl that seemed to have a definite human voice in her head.

The shadow pinning her down moved, standing erect on its hind legs. The wolf was large― nearly twice her size― and it had piercing golden eyes.

 _Show us how strong you really are, graecus,_ the female spoke in her head. Annabeth was sure. _And then we will decide whether you live or die._


	8. Salve, Reyna

REYNA HAD A FEELING THAT the bronze eagle weathervane was staring down at her, the arrows pointing as if telling her to turn to the other direction.

The Big House didn't seem like something you'd see in a horror show, actually. After all, it's just a simple four-story mansion painted in baby blue with white trim. It was the kind of edifice that you could choose whenever you needed a vacation. But the darkness behind the windows and the bleak gray lighting coming from the unequivocal gray skies made it feel like one.

Wallowing up the queasiness she felt earlier, she stepped on the porch, trying to be as silent as she could. Empty seats, a small round table, and a wheelchair greeted her as she passed. Wind chimes in the shape of nymphs spun in the breeze, turning into trees and then back to nymphs in a hypnotic circle.

She knocked on the door, uncertain. "Hello...? Is there anyone―"

 _Clop, clop, clop._

Reyna backed out of the porch, heart pounding and eyes seeking the source of sound. That didn't sound human at all. But maybe it was just a satyr, like Coach Hedge. His name seemed to stab Reyna a bit. He saved them from Dylan, even her who had just appeared in that cursed bus. He might not know her but he chose to do his duty. For that, Reyna wouldn't forget him.

Or maybe it was some hoofed beast. In a camp for half-bloods, Reyna wouldn't be surprised if she had to fight against one.

The clopping hooves again, but softer, muffled by grass. Movement from the sides of the mansion—left. Reyna stiffened. She wished she still had that gold dagger. Waiting in terse silence and shortened breaths, she felt the winter air caress her cheeks like cold icy fingers.

A middle-aged man with a close-trimmed beard rounded the proch from the left, his lower half a gleaming white stallion. His shirt said World's Best Centaur, and a bow and quiver hung on his back.

The man had smiled at her, but it didn't last. He took a couple of steps back, his face turning confused at the sight of Reyna. "Someone made a mistake," he mumbled, troubled.

 _A mistake—?_ Before she could even ask the centaur what he meant, he said, "Follow me."

To be honest, she wouldn't have expected herself be invited inside after that. She watched as Chiron cantered to the porch and fit himself to the empty wheelchair, his horse legs magically disappearing while the wheelchair popped up fake feet on the pedestal. When that was done, Chiron wheeled himself towards the door—which opened itself, surprise, surprise.

Reyna took that as her cue and followed, ignoring the darkness staring down at her. They entered the living room, and suddenly, Reyna felt a dull pounding headache at the base of her head. Vines slithered from the floor to the ceiling, wounding its ways around different masks hanging on the walls and various furnitures. Grapes grew bountiful on each trellis, the leaves as green as summer—which was weird because it was winter, for crying out loud. At the corner, an arcade Pacman continued making small beep sounds.

"Parting gifts from our camp director," Chiron explained when he saw how Reyna eyed the décor. "These are mostly the things he loves."

Reyna pitched in a guess. "—Dionysus, right?"

Chiron nodded as he wheeled himself by the fireplace. Leather couches faced a crackling fire, and Reyna seated herself. Just above the fireplace was a leopard's head, the eyes looking animated.

Then the head snarled and moved its head at her. Reyna's heart almost stopped.

"Seymour," Chiron called, searching his pockets. "She is a friend." He pulled out a Snausage and threw it at the leopard's mouth. Seymour devoured it with relish, then looked and sniffed at Chiron as if he needed more.

Reyna glanced at the glaring leopard. "Where did you even get...?"

"A long, dire story," Chiron excused. "Mr. D saved him from his previous owner and gave him life, thinking that having life as a mounted head was better than no life at all."

 _It's his sacred animal_ , Reyna thought while assisting herself with the lemonade. Out of courtesy, she poured a cup for Chiron. She wasn't trying for flattery; it seemed just the right thing to do.

Chiron sipped his lemonade. "What's your name? Do you remember anything?"

"I'm Reyna," she replied in a small voice. "I woke up riding in a bus, and my memories were gone." She recounted the events since that morning, like what she'd done when Percy had demanded the same thing at the Grand Canyon skywalk.

Once she was done, Chiron took another sip of his lemonade. "You have some questions for me, I wager."

She considered the statement. True, she needed the truth and all her memories back, but there was something about amnesiacs that she recalled: too much memories would muddle up hallucinations, dreams, and reality into one single mass and it could make someone insane. She didn't want to be insane; not here, not now, not ever.

"I just need to know one thing first," she spoke, believing the wisdom of her own judgment. "Why did you say that someone made a mistake earlier?"

Chiron visibly tensed in his seat. The firelight danced wildly in his irises. "It's only a thought." He knows something, like Percy. "Do you know who you really are? The color of your shirt, the marks on your arm—it means something, Reyna. Do you remember?"

Afterimages of the short flashbacks earlier came back with a lot less clarity—a younger Percy and probably the girl named Annabeth, the war field with a lot of people dressed in the same shirt like hers. Reyna realized she hadn't said anything about those. But instead of telling that, she shook her head at Chiron, then took a sip of her lemonade.

"Tell me where you are," Chiron continued, "what this place is for, and my role in this camp."

"I'm in a camp for demigods," she answered. "For the children of Olympian gods. You're... Chiron the centaur, trainer of Greek heroes in the ancient times."

Chiron nodded in appraisal, his kindly gaze at her. "So you believe those gods still exist?"

"Yes," she answered. She was taken aback from how fast she'd reacted to that, like she'd known that for a long, long time. "These gods have been around for a long time, moving as the world's greatest powers changed, like from Ancient Greece to Rome, then eventually, here in America."

Reyna's scalp tingled, the hair on her arms almost standing. She could feel like she was getting closer to something—danger.

" _That's a good way of putting it into words._ " Something changed in the way Chiron talked but she couldn't place what, exactly. " _You seem to know a lot as well. You've been claimed, haven't you?_ "

The recent flashback came again. " _I don't know. Maybe I have been claimed—_ " And then she noticed. "You... Were we speaking Latin—?"

"It's a natural trait in demigods," Chiron assured. Reyna sighed in relief. "Some know only a few phrases, but most campers here are more inclined to speaking, reading, and writing in Ancient Greek."

Reyna stated to pick up the details in her mind: preferring Roman names than Greek earlier, the way she spoke Latin with ease . . . All of them somehow made sense but still incomplete.

She started to say, "What am I missing he—"

 _Salve, Reyna._

Reyna sucked in a breath and glanced around. Did she just hear another voice—?

Chiron was still looking at her, but he wasn't blinking or moving or even breathing. The fire stopped swaying, the arcade sounds halting. Seymour's mouth was halfway open. The masks on the walls seemed to gaze at her with their grape eyes.

 _Reyna_. A female voice spoke. _Listen to me._

Dark smoke poured straight out Seymour's wide mouth. Reyna took a fighting stance, watching as the billowing smoke formed a shadowy figure of a woman. She was covered in darkness from head to toe, a goatskin cloak hanging over her back. Reyna had no idea why or how she knew—she just did.

 _Our time grows short_ , the woman spoke, and the days even shorter. _I have made a mistake, but I know that you will have no troubles in proving yourself to me._

"Proving myself?" Reyna said. "I don't—Why do I have to—"

 _If you want to get your memories back, you have to free me before the solstice. That's four short days from now. If you fail, our enemy's King will rise, the world will be one step closer to oblivion and you'll never know who you are._

 _She's basically using my lost memories as bait, but I certainly don't like the world-falling-to-oblivion part. Duty had to come first above all things._ "What should I do, then? How can I find you?"

 _The answer might come by nightfall_ , she answered. _Remember this: this might be the last time we could ever speak to each other. My prison grows stronger, and my powers are draining faster than I've expected._

 _You are a resourceful one, filia_ , she added in afterthought kind of tone, _and you've proven that even in the past. Do not fail me._

The woman dissolved into black mist, and curled back from whence it came. Seymour coughed and choked, the fire swayed and crackled again, and the arcade Pac-Man beeped to life.

Chiron blinked at the spot where Reyna sat, then at her—still standing and unmoving on her spot. "When did you stand?"

"When the black lady in the mist appeared," she answered, her voice a surprisingly hollow one.


End file.
